


If It Weren't For You

by susandragon01



Category: Southern Vampire Mysteries - Charlaine Harris, True Blood
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-22
Updated: 2013-05-28
Packaged: 2017-12-09 05:25:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/770502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/susandragon01/pseuds/susandragon01
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taylor Blake had always been different, she knew that and most of Bon Temps knew that too. Living with Sookie had thrown her in amongst all the vampire drama, so when Eric instructs Sookie to search for a missing vampire in Dallas, Taylor's not going to let her go alone. Unfortunately for her, a trip to the city ends up costing more than she ever bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing

‘What!!’

‘I’m sorry I didn’t have the chance to tell you sooner, but you know vampires are. Bill has only just told me!’ Taylor felt exasperated, how could Sookie forget to mention this? They were halfway through dinner, Sookie had been home from Merlotte’s for at least two hours and yet this only comes up now? 

‘So when exactly were you going to tell me that you were going on a vampire business trip to Dallas?’ And more importantly, why did this stink of Eric? Taylor could practically see his cocky smirk.

‘Don’t look at me like that,’ She said at Taylor’s disgruntled stare, ‘Of course I was going to tell you, but I knew that as soon as I did you’d tell me that you’re coming too.’ Sook mouthed around a forkful of food. She looked completely at ease, as if having to travel all the way to Dallas was nothing. 

‘Too right I’m coming with you! Have you been keeping track of how many times Eric’s gotten you injured?’ Taylor was frustrated, mainly at Eric and his power to get Sookie to willingly do his dirty work. ‘What’s wrong with him doing it himself?’ It sounded like he said jump and Sookie asked how high?

‘Look Tay’, you know I love you but you’re like my little sister. If this turns out to be some kind of crazy vampire shit, I’m not letting you get anywhere near it. If your parents were alive and they knew I was dragging you in to this what would they think? It was a vampire that killed them in the first place,’ Sookie said the last part softly. ’As for your other question, who knows why Eric does the things he does. Anyway, we agreed that I would be compensated handsomely for it.’ 

Scraping back her chair Taylor stood and walked over to the sink to start on the washing up, taking both their empty plates. Sometimes Sookie did act like the dumb blonde people thought she was. ‘Look Sook, he acts nice to you but that’s only because he’s trying to get in your pants,’ She knew that sounded harsh but it needed to be said. Taylor ignored the question about her parents and instead she blankly stared at the water that was now filling up the sink.

‘Believe me Tay’ I know that’s what he wants but we do need that money. Wouldn’t you rather be loading those dishes into a dishwasher than a sink? Eric knows I’m Bills, and he knows that that’s not going to change.’

I’m Bills, Taylor thought. Bill acted human and was nice enough to be around, but she couldn’t help but wonder at some of his motives. There was definitely something ugly hidden underneath all that southern charm, but she knew Sookie would never believe her. ‘Like it or not Sookie, I’m not letting you go alone.’ She watched as Sookie headed up the stairs to begin packing.

‘Fine you can come, Taylor Blake, but you’re the one that has to tell Eric!’ Sookie called from her bedroom, she really did want Taylor to come, even though she had said she didn’t.

Taylor smirked to herself in the kitchen. There are scarier things out there that Eric, she knew that for a fact, Eric was like a puppy compared to some of them. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialled Eric; he answered after a few rings.

‘I’m just ringing to let you know that I’m coming to Dallas as well,’ Taylor said immediately, not giving the vampire a chance to speak. She heard him chuckle once she finished.

‘I wouldn’t have it any other way.’ Eric had been expecting Taylor’s call. He knew she would want to come and her presence offered more protection for Sookie as well, a dead telepath was the last thing he wanted. Taylor could hear the sound of rustling papers before he spoke again. ‘Be ready in twenty minutes.’ He ended the call.

‘Goodbye to you too,’ Taylor muttered to herself as she walked to her bedroom to begin on packing her suitcase. She was going to Dallas after all.


	2. Chapter 2

The flight to Dallas made Taylor feel uneasy to say the least, but thankfully she had fallen asleep through most of it. They were around three quarters of the way through when Eric decided that it was time to wake her up. The abrupt shake from the vampire startled her and she sat up, blinking open her eyes and peering around groggily.

Noticing Eric was leering over at her, she sighed and looked away. In the two seats in front of her she spotted Sookie and Bill and from behind she could hear Jason’s heavy snores. Outside the window darkness had fallen, but to Taylor the sky was still slightly illuminated by the bright city lights below them. 

‘So how are we going to do this?’ Taylor began. She knew they had to infiltrate the Fellowship Of The Sun, but she hadn’t a clue of where to begin.

‘You, Sookie and another human, Hugo, will pose as siblings wanting to join the church,’ Eric said it so easily, as if he arranged this sort of thing every day. Taylor thought she could detect a hint of doubt from the vampire, but no-one else seemed to be able to hear it. 

From her seat behind them, Taylor could hear Bill’s whispers to Sookie, frantically telling her she couldn’t go in alone. That it was too dangerous. Calm down Bill, it’s a church! What’s the worst that could happen? Taylor thought to herself.

To her, it seemed ridiculous for all three of them to join the church together. If they’ve got a vampire hidden in there they’re going to be expecting someone to try and rescue them. A group of new strangers wanting to join now is only going to raise suspicions.

‘I have a better idea,’ she stated, ‘let me go in first, and then Sookie and Hugo a few hours later. That way if one of us gets found out, there will be someone else inside to keep looking.’ It sounded like a good plan to her and was the best she could think of.

Sookie’s protests began before Taylor had even finished the first sentence. How could she possibly think that was a good idea? Alone and in a church filled with possible vampire kidnappers!? Sookie had no idea what was going through Taylor’s head but she knew she couldn’t let her friend take part in this ridiculous plan.

Taylor silenced Sookie’s protests, ‘Look Sook, I can handle myself. You know that. A bunch of wannabe kidnappers doesn’t faze me. Don’t forget, the quicker we can get someone in there the faster we’re through with this vampire mess and we can get home.’ Turning to look at Eric she added as an afterthought; ‘No offense.’

‘None taken,’ he replied smoothly, a few seconds later. ‘It’s a good plan, you will leave for The Fellowship as soon as we land, then Sookie and Hugo will join you a couple of hours later.’

‘Does this vampire have a name?’ Taylor questioned Eric.

‘His name is Godric.’

 

Once safely on the ground Taylor gave Sookie a quick hug and told her to call her if she found the vampire before she did. They had agreed that Sook was to visit the hotel first and then arrive at the church shortly after Taylor, and it was only if she hadn’t called by late in the day that she could start worrying. Personally Taylor didn’t see why they were having to make such a drama out of the job, the Fellowship couldn’t be that big and it wasn’t like they were going to go exploring the entire place, just looking for somewhere that would be light tight and could safely hold a vampire.

With a last glance at her friend, Taylor was ushered into a sleek, black car and asked where she wanted to go. Eric works fast she thought. Telling the driver that she was headed to The Fellowship Of The Sun Church she relaxed a little in the seat, leaning her head against the cool glass of the door and watching the streets flash by. 

The sun had risen hours ago and both Eric and Bill had had to retire to their coffins during mid-flight. They were to be sent to the Hotel Carmilla with Sookie and Jason and would rise in the evening.

Thankfully the car ride didn’t take long and within half an hour she had arrived at the church. Slamming the door behind her Taylor would have tried to find a side entrance to the church she could sneak into, but unfortunately before she had even made a step she was stopped in her tracks by the most ridiculously cheery ‘hello’ she had ever heard.

Quickly plastering a fake smile on her face Taylor turned around to be greeted by none other than Steve and Sarah Newlin. ‘What brings you to God’s House today missy?’ the reverend questioned, Taylor noticed the suspicious look in his eye.

‘Uhm,’ Tay’ began, fiddling with her fingers. She thought that if she came off as nervous, shy and basically everything the Newlins believed was a ‘true Christian’, from what she had seen on the TV, then she would be the last person they would expect to come looking for a vampire. ‘Well I wanted to join your church,’ at the end of the sentence she looked at the ground, even adding a little stammer into her words.

‘Aw you poor thing,’ Sarah piped up, putting her arm around Taylor’s shoulders and steering towards the church, Steve walking by their side. ‘What was it that made you see our Lord’s holy light?’ Her words were sickly sweet.

Taylor looked at the ground as she spoke, ‘My family was murdered by one of those blood suckers and because you’re church is anti-vampire I know that there would be other people I can relate to here.’ It wasn’t exactly a lie. Her family had been killed by a vampire, but it was ten years ago it had happened. Now, partly thanks to the production of TruBlood and the reveal of their species, which some had proved to not be all bad, Taylor had made her peace with them. As long as they kept their distance she was fine. Although, she knew that if she ever found that one individual, she would make sure he would face the true death, preferably by her hand.

Both reverend and wife had sympathetic expressions on their faces as they looked at her. ‘Well don’t you worry darling, we’ve got a special surprise for you at dawn.’ At Steve’s words, they walked inside the building, with Taylor following slowly behind.

The door they entered led into what Taylor presumed was the main area of the church, since it was filled with pews. Across the room she could see people filing in from both sides and taking seats. Obviously there was going to be a sermon of some kind and, thankfully for Taylor, as soon as they entered the Newlins started up to the front of the room where a large set man was stood off the side. His greying hair was cut short and he had his arms folded over his navy jumper. Both of the Newlins seemed to have forgotten about her, already! Not that she was complaining. That must be some important speech they have planned, she thought as she watched from the back of the room as husband and wife practically skipped their way past the rest of the eagerly awaiting church-goers after their talk with the stern-looking man, and to the front of the room where a small stand had been placed with a built in microphone. 

Taylor only stayed long enough to hear Steve welcoming all the people that had attended. That man is so far up himself. Shaking her head at his delusional teachings she slowly shuffled her way to the first door she could see which was to her left. Making sure she wasn’t spotted she swiftly darted inside, the door closing softly behind her. She was now stood inside an off-cream corridor with doors on both side of her and one at the end.

Taylor wasn’t going to wait around for Sookie to call her, no matter what she had previously said. If these people had truly managed to capture and hold a vampire, then said vampire must be in considerable pain since silver is the only thing that could hold one down. The faster she found the vampire, the better.

Thinking on her feet, she knew that the only realistically light tight place would be the basement, so that was where she headed. Sookie should have arrived by now anyway, and knowing her, she was bound to be with the action. After opening a random series of doors and thankfully not spotting anyone, she carried on her way through the dingy hall until she reached the last door. 

The door was closed but like the rest, it was unlocked. Pushing it open Taylor fumbled for a light switch along the dusty surface of the wall. Once reaching it and flicking it on Taylor descended the bleak stairs and was faced with yet another door to enter. 

The door hadn’t been used often, she could tell, due to the amount of dust that coated it and the floor around it. Forcefully twisting the handle and pulling open the door made a cloud of the dust rise up and Taylor coughed as she waved her hand in front of her face, walking inside. 

Allowing the door the shut behind her Taylor had to wait a few seconds whilst her eyes adjusted to the light change. At first glance the room was pitch black but gradually she was able to pick out certain aspects, such as a pile of dirty boxes to her immediate right. 

There was something about the atmosphere in the room that she couldn’t quite pinpoint, like something hanging heavily in the air, but whether it was just her nerves she couldn’t tell. Further steps inside brought her to the centre of the room and apart from the door she entered through she couldn’t visibly see any other exits through the darkness.

Taylor immediately froze as she heard an impossibly light movement coming from her left. ‘Hello? Is there any one there?’ She slowly sidestepped closer to the sound of the movement, which had now halted, and almost jumped out of her skin as she heard a voice answer her question.


	3. Chapter 3

‘Hello.’

Taylor was startled; she hadn’t actually expected anyone to answer her call. As she walked towards the sound she noticed the area was caged off, and peering in she noticed that there was a man stood inside. Even in the darkness Taylor could tell he was pale, he must be the missing vampire, she presumed.

‘Are you Godric?’ Taylor asked, she doubted that it could be anyone else but it was best to make sure.

‘I am’ he replied, then he cocked his head a little to the side as he looked directly at her. ‘How can you see me? It is too dark in here for the human eye’ Taylor frowned, maybe this Godric needed to go and visit a doctor or something, she could tell it was dark in the room but she could still see well enough to not walk into anything. She turned her head to look at the door she came through expecting to see some light shining through but there wasn’t. The dust must have blocked it up.

‘I eat my carrots’ she said instead, unsure of how to really answer his question. Godric frowned at her witty remark, not understanding the reference. In response he asked another question.

‘How do you know who I am,’ he questioned curiously, it was rare he met a human who knew of him that hadn’t been claimed, as he could see no visible bite marks on her neck.

‘Eric sent me, Sookie and Hugo to look for you.’ She noticed something change in his gaze when she mentioned Eric, maybe he annoyed Godric too. ‘Have you seen anyone else?’ she added as an afterthought, the whole reason she was down in the basement to begin with was because she had guessed that Sookie would be where ever the vampires were, maybe she was wrong. 

‘I have seen no one else,’ he was looking at her strangely, with a half frown on his face, Taylor couldn’t tell what he was thinking but she hoped he wasn’t hungry, the last thing she needed was to become a vampire’s dinner. 

Godric’s face went blank suddenly and he looked at the cell wall to his left as if he could see through it. He was silent for a while and Taylor started to feel a little awkward just standing there, watching him watching a wall. He turned his head to face her just as Taylor was about to open her mouth. ‘I can hear a woman and a man in the next room,’ he tilted his head a little to the left as he said it as if emphasising his point. 

Taylor raised her eyebrows in amazement and he smirked a little at her surprise. She looked in the same direction, and thanks to her eyes fully adjusting to the darkness now, she spotted a door she hadn’t previously seen. She already had her hand on the handle when she turned around to thank Godric for his help.

‘You are welcome little one,’ he replied with a small smile gracing his lips. He peered through the bars at her, his arms loosely held at his sides, as she stepped through the now opened door and only looked away once the door had closed behind her, although he continued to listen carefully to the room she had just entered.

She knew that the reason she was here in the first place was to help the vampire escape, but she needed to make sure Sookie was alright first. Then she could come back for Godric. After all, apart from being locked up and looking a little pale he seemed fine, there was no blood on him or his clothes so she presumed that he was being treated fairly. As fairly as a vampire can be, trapped inside a vampire hating church.

Taylor stepped forward in to the brighter room, blinking her eyes rapidly as they adjusted to the light change. As she rounded a corner she could hear Hugo’s hysterical shouts and Sookie’s frantic whispering telling him to shut up. Taylor had never felt more relived to see Sookie.

‘Taylor thank god you’re here. How did you know where to find us?’ Sookie asked anxiously as she ran towards the front of the cage.

‘I had a hunch’ Sookie nodded at her explanation, knowing that Taylor was normally right about these things and she just wanted out of the small closed in space. Taylor tried to open the door but found it was locked by a padlock that was attached to the flimsy fence wiring. Grabbing the whole lock in her hand she gave it a good yank and the pieces of wire it was attached to snapped like twigs and the door swung open.

‘How did you do that? We’ve been trying for hours to unlock the door!’ Hugo exclaimed as Taylor walked in to the cell.

‘You must have weakened the metal with your girly screams,’ Taylor snickered. She suddenly felt a pair of hands on her back shove her forward and she stumbled to the ground.

‘Who the hell are you?’ Gabe shouted as his hulking frame barged into the tiny cell. 

‘Gabe! Gabe they know everything let me out!’ Hugo drew Gabe’s attention as Taylor began to stumble to her feet whilst watching the pair. As soon as Gabe got close enough to Hugo he started throwing punches at him, quickly silencing the smaller man’s protests.

‘Stop it!’ Sookie screeched and jumped on Gabe’s back only for him to throw her into some shelves, banging her head hard against the metal.

‘Get off of her!’ Taylor shouted at him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. Gabe rounded on Taylor and attempted to push her away but he stumbled back when he was met with a hard punch in the face.

‘You stupid fangbanger’ he called while rubbing his jaw in one hand. Taylor saw him raise his fist to punch her in return and attempted to duck underneath the blow but she was too slow and she found herself sprawled on the floor in a heap. Shit, she thought as Gabe jumped on top of her, pinning her down with a slap to the face when she tried to kick him off. 

Taylor screamed as he tried to undo her jeans, and she tried to scrabble away as he began to curse as her for being a fangbanger. She received another hit as she attempted to buck him off again and she was about to cry out another time until suddenly he wasn’t on top of her anymore. Taylor raised her head to see what had happened and she saw Godric clutching Gabe painfully by the ear at the other side of the cell.

Godric turned his gaze away from the struggling human to look at Taylor, who was quickly buttoning up her jeans. His eyes hardened in anger as he saw what Gabe had obviously been trying to do and turned back to the human he held in his hand. Without any hesitance he snapped the disgusting human’s neck and watched as his dead body fell to the floor.

Sookie groggily opened her eyes to see a young man stood in the room with an unmoving Gabe at his feet. ‘Godric?’


	4. Chapter 4

Godric’s head turned at the sound of his name and he looked to Sookie. ‘You should not have come,’ he began, before shifting his eyes to Taylor. ‘Either of you.’ 

He looked strained now, Taylor thought. As if the weight of the world was resting on his shoulders. Back in the cell he had seemed almost at peace, like his imprisonment was a good thing, or as if it made up for something. Some cage that was she mused, looking at the vampire who had obviously been able to break out of it.

There was also sadness in his eyes and he looked away as Taylor fiddled with the button of her jeans. Now a little more presentable she slowly stood, not looking at his downcast eyes but turning to help Sookie, who had now pulled herself into a seated position. 

Once they were both on their feet they felt a stirring in the air. Godric’s head snapped up at the disturbance, his eyes closing. ‘Bill?’ Sookie called, grasping on to Taylor for support as she stood, swaying on her feet. 

‘No,’ it was Godric who spoke, ‘I am here my child. Down here.’ Less than a second later, Eric was stood in the doorway. His eyes were wide and shocked with numerous emotions playing on his face. 

‘Godric,’ he half-whispered. He knelt in front of the smaller vampire, bowing his head a little as he did so. 

‘You were a fool for sending humans after me,’ Godric spoke, there was little emotion in his words but he spoke to Eric with a steady voice. He spared a quick glance to Taylor as he said the word ‘humans’, before refocusing his attentions on Eric.

‘I had no other choice; these savages, they seek to destroy you,’ by the end of his words he was looking up at the smaller vampire. To Taylor, Eric looked like he hadn’t slept for a week, although, apart from his eyes he hadn’t a hair out of place. 

Godric’s expression never wavered. ‘I’m aware of what they had planned,’ at this Eric face fell even more, and although he tried to hide it, it was a futile effort. Godric’s jaw tensed slightly as he looked at him. What was planned? Taylor thought, not following. Pointing to an unconscious man on the floor, who she presumed to be Hugo, Godric spoke, ‘This one betrayed you.’

Sookie answered the unasked question, her eyes darting between the three of them. ‘He’s with the fellowship; they set a trap for us,’ Taylor, still holding Sookie steady, studied both vampire’s expressions carefully. Godric looked worn, but he looked to Sookie as she spoke, whereas Eric stayed focused on Godric. From the slight hardening of his expression he looked a little pissed. Taylor presumed that they had both met Hugo before. 

Eric though, did not reply to Sookie, instead addressing Godric again, still on his knees. ‘How long has it been since you have fed?’ Taylor gulped a little at his words; she wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to offer one of them up for Godric, if the expression on his face was anything to go by.

Thankfully, he declined. ‘I require very little blood anymore,’ his words were sure. To Taylor he did look paler than Eric, so maybe he was lying. She didn’t think the Fellowship would bring any TruBlood down here for him, being vampire-haters.

Eric looked as if he was going to contradict Godric’s statement but he silenced himself as an alarm began to sound. The blonde vampire’s actions seemed to be slower than normal. He was still kneeling, watching Godric’s expression. Who’d have thought, an inside alarm in a church. They really were prepared Taylor mused. 

It was Godric who reacted the quickest. ‘Save the humans. Go,’ his eyes were already on the doorway.

‘I am not leaving your side until-.’ Eric countered, his voice stern.

Godric interrupted him before he could finish, ‘I can take care of myself.’ 

Taylor didn’t understand, why was he talking as if he wanted to stay? That idea of a doctor for him was sounding better by the minute. She was only relatively sure he was telling the truth. Yes, vampires can take care of themselves, but one that was able to be captured by the Fellowship and held for days might not be able to. Then how come he was able to escape his cell so easily? None of this made any sense.

Sookie, who was a lot more stable now grumbled to herself. ‘Come on, we have to go!’ she darted over to Eric who was now, finally, stood on his feet.

‘Spill no blood on your way out,’ was Godric’s last words as Eric, conceding, picked Sookie up and moved out the door. 

It was just Taylor and Godric now, and she moved towards him, standing in front of him where Eric had been kneeling only seconds ago. The flashing lights of the alarm were reflecting off of the many metal objects surrounding them, making bright patterns shine on the walls and ceiling. 

Godric’s lowered eyes rose to meet Taylor’s as she spoke. ‘Why do I have the feeling that you don’t want to come with us?’ he did not reply, instead continuing to look at her. ‘We didn’t come all this way for you to say no.’ 

After a few seconds of deliberation he answered her. ‘I will see you outside; go with Eric,’ his eyes indicated the door, but Taylor sighed as he made no move towards it. Why he couldn’t go with them she didn’t know.

‘Do you promise?’ she questioned, looking at him. She watched the emotions play out in his eyes and quickly she could tell he had made a decision.

‘Yes, I swear it, now go,’ for a vampire he sure did seem to prefer putting human needs before his own. Taylor was sure if Bill was in his place, he would have already made some lame excuse for needing to bite Sookie. Maybe he’s older than Bill, since Eric was practically ancient and from what she had gathered they seemed to know each other well enough. Unfortunately, she had no way of guessing his age since vampires don’t visibly change.

Satisfied, Taylor followed the path Eric had taken, only looking back as she walked through the door. Godric hadn’t moved but his eyes were tracking her movements. 

Idly, whilst walking through the musty corridor, Taylor wandered where Jason had gotten to, since the last time she has seen him was when they were on the plane. She doubted that he would have let Sookie come here without him so where was he? She hoped he hadn’t been injured or caught by the Newlins.

Turning a corner Taylor spotted both Eric and Sookie waiting by the door at the end of the hallway. Sookie was stood on her own two feet now and spotted Taylor as soon as she caught up with them. ‘Oh, gosh, I thought something had happened to you!’ She exclaimed, pulling Taylor in for a hug.

‘Sook I was gone for all of two minutes,’ she joked back. Taylor looked at Eric over Sookie’s shoulder, knowing that he had probably heard her and Godric’s conversation. At least he’s a little less tense now she thought, even though they still had to find a way out of here.

Creaking open the door they found themselves at the bottom of a flight of off-white stairs. Clambering up them and walking along the landing they peered around the corner and from where they stood Taylor could see people filing into another room. Ahead of them lay the closed doors that would lead them to their freedom, blocked by the mass of church-goers. As well as the sound of the blaring alarm, Steve Newlin’s voice rung loud through the speakers, telling all the Fellowship members to evacuate the building. 

‘I could have you out in seconds,’ Eric mumbled and to Taylor it sounded more like he was talking to himself than either of them. 

’There’s kids out there!’ Sookie angrily whispered.

‘None of those humans would think twice about hurting us,’ he replied, his eyes watching the evacuation. 

‘Why didn’t you bring Bill with you?’ Sookie asked and Taylor had to fight not to roll her eyes. Really Sook? We’re trapped inside this church and you’re asking why Bill isn’t here? There are more important things to thing about! Like escaping! But it did make her wander what had happened to the dark haired vampire.

‘His attachment to you is irrational; it clouds his judgement.’ Eric began. I couldn’t have put it better myself, Taylor thought. ‘He would kill every child in this church to save you,’

Sookie’s voice was snarky as she replied. ‘Why aren’t you?’ Taylor stood between them, beginning to feel annoyed. Can we not get out of here already? You two are bickering like an old married couple.

‘I’m following Godric’s orders and getting you out, that’s all,’ that was true Taylor knew, but throughout her entire time of knowing Eric Northman she had never once seen him follow orders. There must be more between them than I originally thought.

‘He’s your maker isn’t he?’ Taylor asked, putting the pieces together. It made sense that the only person he would get on his knees for was his maker, so it must be Godric.

‘Don’t use words you don’t understand,’ was his only reply, looking from Sookie to Taylor.

‘You have a lot of love for him,’ this was a statement. Taylor smirked a little, Eric always tried to come off as not caring and having no attachments, but now she knew it was all a façade. 

It was only then that he looked away, his eyes returning to the evacuation. ‘Don’t use words I don’t understand,’

Taylor could tell Eric was undecided about what to do. Sighing she muttered, ‘Stay here,’ and moving before Sookie could stop her she walked out into the open, just as a group of the Fellowship’s ‘Soldiers of the Sun’ were locking the doors on the evacuees. 

‘Hey there!’ she called as she strolled up to them. ‘Steve asked me to man the fort while you guys lock up the rest of the place,’ she said it casually with her hands in her pockets.

‘What you? A girl?’ one of the men questioned, jeering with the other two next to him. He was in his mid-twenties, Taylor guessed, and he was dressed like his two friends in the grey drab uniform they had obviously been given by Steve.

‘Is there a problem with that?’ Taylor queried, annoyed at their sexist remark but still attempting to keep a smile on her face. From the looks the men were giving her, her smile had probably turned into a grimace. 

The second man sized her up, stalking around her. ‘Where’s your weapon?’ Damn, Taylor thought.

‘Err,’ before she had time to formulate a response she heard Sookie’s cry of ‘Stake!’ and she ducked as the first man attempted to hit her. Goddammit, she thought, spinning and landing a round house kick to his face. I’m not even that pale, how can they think I’m a vampire?

Smoothly dodging a punch coming from her right she instead grabbed the man by his shirt and forcefully threw him into the third Soldier of the Sun that was advancing on her. They both fell into a heap of tangled limbs on the floor. Well that took care of that.

Not sparing them a glance, she followed Sookie and Eric who were now running to the door. Yanking it open, the three of them piled outside only to discover that there were at least forty Soldiers of the Sun advancing on them. This day cannot get any worse.

The Soldiers were less than six feet away when Taylor felt a slight disturbance in the air. Annoyingly, Eric didn’t seem fazed by any of it and actually looked expectant, almost excited. Taylor realised why he looked so care-free when she heard a soft thud sound from just behind her.

‘Aren’t you glad I’m here?’ she heard Godric’s soft voice in her ear before she and a startled Sookie were pulled up into the night sky.


	5. Chapter 5

With the ground rapidly falling out from under her feet, Taylor had to grasp tightly on to the hard body in front of her. With her eyes squeezed firmly shut she buried her face in the vampire’s chest, refusing to look down and she felt, rather than heard, Godric’s amused chuckle as she did so. 

Not a few feet away from them in the open air, Sookie and Eric were likewise in the same position, except in their case Eric was happily leering down at the blonde. 

Feeling the icy wind whip wildly through her long brown hair Taylor hugged closer, not wanting to tumble out of his grasp as they flew through the inky darkness.

‘I will not let you fall, little one,’ he whispered in Taylor’s ear. His words were almost in-audible but due to their closeness she managed to pick them up just fine. 

‘How far are we going?’ Taylor questioned numbly into Godric’s neck as she began to feel the wind’s intensity slowly begin to die down. 

‘We are already there,’ was the vampire’s soft reply before both he and Eric silently descended on to the gravel driveway of Godric’s nest. Once realising that her feet were in fact safely on the ground, Taylor took a wobbly step backwards, refusing to acknowledge the hint of a smile that played on Godric’s lips as he watched the windswept human in front of him attempt to regain her footing. 

Quickly recovering Taylor looked behind both vampires and at the vast house. Impressive, she thought as she openly ogled the building’s modern exterior. Inside of it, she noticed through the window, there were many people moving about, most of them turning to notice the group of four that now stood just outside.

After a short glance at Eric, who Taylor thought was looking pretty smug –most likely because he was still holding on to Sookie- Godric led them up the pathway and to the door of the house, which opened before he could reach for the handle. In the doorway stood a dark haired woman who was dressed in black and just behind her was a man that Taylor could only describe as a cowboy. She noticed that they were both vampires, due to their paleness and she breathed a silent sigh of relief when the woman broke out a wide smile instead of her fangs.

‘Godric!’ she called, her face becoming jovial. Taylor almost expected her to pull him in for a hug, except vampires don’t do that, she remembered.

‘Isabel,’ he spoke, his words soft and calming. ‘Stan.’.

‘Sherriff,’ Cowboy replied, giving a gruff nod in Godric’s direction, his eyes flickering between Taylor and Sookie. Wait, sheriff? Vampires have sheriffs? Taylor raised an eyebrow at Godric, earning a small, sheepish smile in return.

Turning to face Isabel again he stated, ‘Let me introduce you to Miss Stackhouse and Taylor..’ his words trailed off as he looked back to her.

‘Just Taylor,’ she replied, not giving him any last name. Please don’t start calling my Miss Blake; I’m not a middle aged librarian yet.

Isabel smiled warmly, and lent forwards to shake Taylor’s hand as they stepped inside. ‘It is lovely to meet you Taylor,’ she spoke with a slight accent, ‘Miss Stackhouse and I have already met,’ she finished while looking over Taylor’s shoulder at Sookie. When did that happen? Taylor wondered as she walked into the room where most of the vampires had gathered. After a few seconds of internal debating she concluded that it must have been just after she had arrived at the church.

As Eric and Godric wandered further into the room, Taylor followed Sookie over to a table containing human drinks and bottles of TruBlood. Grabbing a cup of what she hoped was water; she took a sip and spoke the first thing that came to mind. ‘Where did Jason get to?’ She hadn’t seen him for a while.

‘Oh he’s fine,’ Sookie began. ‘We left him at the hotel, after all he’s not known for following plans like that and I didn’t want to drag him in to any of this any further,’ That was a point, Taylor’s internal voice spoke. ‘And yes, before you ask, I’m fine. Are you?’

Taylor paused before she spoke, ‘I’m okay, but I thought you still couldn’t read my thoughts?’ A little heads up would be nice if you suddenly were able to hear my internal monologues.

‘I still can’t honey, but you’ve got that parental look on your face that I swear you must have adopted right off of Gran,’ Sookie laughed and Taylor joined in with her. She had always remembered that look on Adele’s face as she grew up with the Stackhouses and she had to admit she used to have a hard time not sniggering whenever it was directed at someone. 

Looking behind them Taylor spotted Bill entering the house and from the looks of Sookie’s face, she summarised she must have too. Turning to Sookie she stated, ‘I’ll give you guys some space, shout if you need me,’ and with that she hastily walked in the other direction. 

Sighing to herself as she walked into an adjoining room she was surprised when she found herself stood at the back of a queue. Curious about what there was to queue for she looked around the line of bodies in front of her and found Godric sat at the head of them, looking a little tired.

With nothing better to do, she patiently stayed inline, occasionally taking a mouthful of her drink. Finally, when the last vampire in front of her was finished welcoming Godric home and had strolled away, she was met with the vampire. 

‘It is so good to see you again, sheriff,’ Taylor mimicked, earning an amused smile from Godric as he looked up at her. ‘I have to say though,’ she continued more seriously, settling herself down in a seat beside him, ‘you do seem a little dismayed at the moment.’

‘I have never really enjoyed public affairs,’ he replied, turning to face Taylor.

She raised her second eyebrow of the night. ‘So why did you choose to become sheriff? I’m sure there’s something else you could do that you would enjoy more.’ If I could live forever I certainly wouldn’t be hanging around with Cowboy.

Godric smiled a little ruefully, ‘I was asked to take the position some decades ago and because Eric was similarly offered to be sheriff of Area 9 I took it, although now I feel that giving to job to someone else wouldn’t be a bad thing.’ Taylor perked up a little at that.

‘What would you do then? Eric’s your child right? So would you go and live in Shreveport with him?’ No, no, no, she was definitely not slightly excited by the fact that the handsome, easy to talk to vampire could possibly be moving in down the road. That would be silly.

Godric thought for a pause, surprised at her knowledge. ‘Yes I would, it has been some time since I have spoken with Eric and I would enjoy his company. You live with Miss Stackhouse do you not? I will come by and visit.’

‘Yeah, that’d be good.’ Taylor replied a little too quickly and the vampire smirked at her accelerating heart beat and the blush that fanned her cheeks. She wondered how he knew she lived with Sookie but guessed that since Eric had hinted previously that there was more to the whole maker – child bond thing than she could see, she supposed he must have found out from the blonde.

Taylor would have asked another question were she not interrupted by the vampire in question and after a pointed look from Eric she stood up. Glancing back at Godric she said ‘I’ll talk to you in a bit,’ and slipped her way past the imposing vampire, returning to the room in which she had left Sookie in.

Walking up to the open glass back doors, she breathed in a deep breath of fresh air, exhaling slowly. Thinking back to her conversation with Godric she chastised herself for her reaction to the news that he was moving to Shreveport. Way to go there Tay’, she thought, that was subtle. 

Nevertheless, startled was definitely an understatement as she heard Sookie yell, ‘Go find someone else you fucking bitch! You’ve lost this one!’ Spinning around she spotted a furious Sook being restrained by Bill, only for him to be thrown across the room as a woman in a red dress moved in on her friend.

Oh hell no, she thought as she dashed up to the two of them, darting to stand in the middle as she ushered Sookie behind her. ‘Who are you?’ she angrily questioned the snarling vampire whose attention had now shifted to her.

‘Get out of my way! I will not let that bitch have him!’ she growled, pointing across the room at the dark haired vampire. Really? They were fighting over Bill? How on earth was that shady vampire managing to get two girls to fight over him? The answer eluded her.

Taylor’s voice was icy as she pushed Sookie a little further back. ‘You’re not getting anywhere near her. You’ll have to get through me first.’ Not the smartest move you’ve made there Taylor, she thought to herself. Unbeknownst to the three of them, they had attracted quite a lot of attention. 

‘Don’t mind if I do,’ was the only warning she got before the red woman charged at her. Speedily grabbing the empty tray that had previously been filled with cups from the table she caught the vampire on the jaw as she swung the metal as if it were a bat. 

Underestimating Taylor’s strength sent Red flying backwards and was left with a fine trickle of blood coating her face before she used her preternatural speed to grip Taylor around the neck and slam her onto the table. 

Any objects that had previously been on the table were now scattered on the floor as the vampire bore down on her, only to be kicked roughly in the stomach, although her grip on Taylor’s neck never loosened. Looking out of the corner of her eye for a split second she noticed Bill sat exactly where Red had thrown him, seemingly not interested in getting up and trying to stop the goddamned vampire that was quickly beginning to strangle Taylor.

Thankfully though, Red was abruptly ripped away from Taylor, leaving her gasping for breath and clutching her sore throat. Sliding off the table and leaning into a concerned Sookie Taylor saw it was Godric who had saved her. She coughed painfully as she saw that it was now Red who had a hand wrapped around her throat.

‘Retract, your fangs,’ each word was spoken slowly and deliberately and Taylor could now see why he was sheriff as she heard the command in his voice. ‘Now.’

Red begrudgingly did as she was told much to Taylor’s satisfaction. For a split second there she had looked angry enough to jump Godric, but that emotion had now flitted away. 

Forcing Red closer to the ground Godric spoke again. ‘I neither know, nor care who you are, but in this area and certainly in this nest, I am the authority.’ There was a slight pause in his words before he continued. ‘Do you understand?’

Even through the unrelenting grip he had on her, Red managed to be able to feebly nod. ‘Yes sheriff.’ It was obvious she knew she was out matched yet she talked on through gritted teeth. ‘She provoked me.’ Taylor rolled her eyes.

‘And you provoke me,’ there was an undercurrent of anger laced in his words and the fact that he hadn’t even raised his voice made him seem more absolute. Finally releasing his grip her ordered her to be escorted out of the nest by none other than Bill, who had, by now, sidled up to stand next to Sookie. 

Leaning into her friend she was pulled into a hug whilst the remaining vampires began to shift their attentions elsewhere. ‘Well, that could have gone worse,’ she mumbled as she pulled away, gaining a relieved chuckle from the blonde. 

Turning around she faced Godric, ‘Thank you Godric,’ she said, relieved she hadn’t been turned into a pile of goo. ‘I doubt I could’ve gotten myself out of that one without your help.’ 

Although he was good at covering up his emotions, Taylor could’ve sworn he looked a little abashed. He was back to being the shy boy again. ‘You are welcome.’ He replied. 

Not really knowing what else to do Taylor headed over to an unspoilt table of drinks near the front door. Arguing with herself about her inability to form a fully coherent thought while with Godric, she looked up as someone paused next to her table.

‘Are you alright?’ She asked, noting the man looked seriously apprehensive. He was wearing all black, like a lot of the people here, but what made him stand out he most was the look of resigned fate in his eyes. 

He turned to her then, and Taylor took him in. His appearance was dishevelled and he smelled strange, almost like metal, and was that …sulphur? 

Taylor stood silently as he called for everyone’s attention, silencing the room. ‘My name is Luke McDonald; I’m a member of the Fellowship of the Sun and I have a message for you all,’ Taylor was worried now as she stood near him. She looked across the room to see Sookie and then locked eyes with Godric. ‘From reverend Steve Newlin.’ 

After that, everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

Blaring agony from her right side was the first thing Taylor felt, although her mind was foggy from the loud ringing in her ears. Screams where what she heard next, but she couldn’t tell in which direction they were coming from. Struggling to open her heavy eye lids, but finally managing to do so, she raised a stiff arm to find out what the wetness was that she could feel running down the side of her face. When her fingers came back coated in red, she groaned and feebly attempted to sit up.

It took some effort, but she managed to get herself in a sitting position. The agony that she had felt earlier had now subsided into just a dull ache. Looking around at what was left of the house she struggled to comprehend what had taken place.

‘Taylor! Are you alright?’ Numbly turning to face the voice she saw that Godric was now kneeling at her side. There were a few patches of blood staining his jumper but apart from that, he seemed fine. She hoped he hadn’t been hurt. At the gentle shake on her shoulder, she realised he was waiting for her answer.

‘I’m-I’m okay,’ she managed to stutter out. Taking a deep breath she winced at the burn she felt. Godric appeared to notice her pain, and he looked down at her side. 

Taylor watched as her completely blood soaked shirt was slowly lifted up. Before Godric reached the dull throbbing in her side, she looked away and squeezed her eyes shut; not wanting to see the mangled mess her body must surely be in. She felt his gentle hand still once he had fully uncovered her side.

‘How bad is it?’ Taylor cringed, needing to know yet not wanting to at the same time. This was always the worst part of being in any fight or getting any injury; finding out the damage. Godric had yet to reply, his hand unmoving on her surely marred skin. Cracking open one eye, she looked at the slightly confused frown on his face.

‘You are fine.’ What? Quickly opening her other eye she saw for herself that the vampire was telling the truth. But how? I was standing the closest to the bomb and there was no-one else near enough to me for their blood to be able to saturate my clothes like this.

Taylor, with help from Godric, shakily stood up and checked again to make sure. Yes, there were bruises already beginning to form on her torso, but no-where was there any sign of any wound that had broken the skin. 

‘Well,’ she started, ‘that was lucky.’ Insanely lucky she thought.

Godric was still frowning, disbelievingly, at where she had stood as she wobbled off to find Sookie. Carefully stepping over the debris that littered the floor she eventually reached where she had last seen her friend. Thankfully, she didn’t find a gruesome sight, but instead she walked up just in time to catch Sookie slapping Eric whilst furiously wiping her mouth. Whoa Sook, calm down – you’ve just been bombed.

Upon being spotted by the blonde, Taylor was enveloped in a huge bear-hug. ‘This was definitely what I would class as crazy vampire shit,’ she mumbled in Sook’s ear, remembering what she had told her friend before they had left for Dallas. 

Looking over Sookie’s shoulder, Taylor watched the death glares being exchanged between Bill and Eric with curiosity. Well, Bill was the vampire with the death glare; Eric just looked smug, as usual. Knowing that she probably didn’t want to know, Taylor didn’t ask what had happened between the three of them, instead focusing on hugging her friend.

‘Are you okay?’ Taylor asked, she hadn’t seen any blood on Sookie, just smears of dirt.

‘Yes,’ she smiled into Taylor’s neck. ‘Are you? You were stood so close Tay’, I was worried.’ I was too, she thought to herself, but thank gosh we’re both still here.

‘I’m still in one piece.’ She replied as she gently pulled away from Sookie, hearing Isabel’s distant voice.

Turning around, Taylor paid more attention to what was being spoken. ‘Everybody, go to the hotel Carmilla; they have been alerted and security is in place.’ It was Godric who was now speaking, instructing the survivors to seek shelter. 

As vampires and humans alike began to shuffle their way out, including Sookie and Bill, Taylor was left staring at Godric. He looked lost, stood amongst the sea debris, taking in the devastation of his once beautiful home. Obviously he would be saddened by the loss of those who had died, but he also looked dispirited and melancholy. 

Wordlessly, Taylor approached him and reached forward to dust off some of the ash from his short hair. His despondent eyes made something in Taylor twinge painfully, so she grabbed his hand in hers. 

‘Shreveport, Godric?’ As she softly reminded him of what he had agreed, he seemed to pull himself together. His attention shifted to her and he offered her a tight lipped smile as Eric and Isabel approached, although he didn’t pull back his hand.

‘Godric,’ Eric spoke, looking at his maker. He talked much more softly to him than Taylor had heard his speak to anyone else. Maybe he always did that. ‘There are cars outside to take us to the hotel.’

Following the vampire’s lead, Taylor saw Eric had indeed been telling the truth. The night air allowed her to clear her senses as she stepped up to the last vehicle present, seeing others driving away in the distance. Finally taking back her hand she jumped inside the car, watching as Godric and Eric both joined her inside with Eric in the front and Godric next her. No more Superman moves now, she thought as the car sped off, looking out of the window at the dark Dallas night. She had to admit it was a relief to know she wasn’t about to be pulled up into the air again.

She had no idea who the driver was, or how he had even arrived so quickly, but she wasn’t about to complain. It took no time at all to reach the hotel, and they quickly piled out of the car, which drove off as soon as Taylor had closed the door. 

With Taylor in tow, both vampires entered the building. As soon as she stepped inside she spotted Sookie and Jason waiting for her and she presumed Bill must already be in his room. Quickly darting away from behind Godric and Eric, Taylor walked up to the Stackhouses, smiling warmly at the both of them.

‘It’s good to see you again,’ she said to Jason. It was true; the last time they had spoken was once the plane had landed.

‘You too Tay’, we can talk more tomorrow; you look practically dead on your feet.’ That was a point; the idea of a soft, warm bed was starting to feel really good right about now. Glancing around she spotted the receptionist who had just finished talking with Eric. Bunking with Bill and Sookie did not sound like the best of ideas, and she was just about to head over to the desk when the ridiculously tall vampire stopped her.

‘Here,’ He stated, placing a room key in her hands. ‘Your belongings are already up there.’ 

Taylor sighed in relief. ‘Thanks Eric.’ She walked with the four of them as they entered the lift, with Jason pressing to button for their floor.

Taylor stood at the back next to Godric, leaning against him a little as she felt tiredness begin to creep up on her; since he made no complaint, she guessed it was okay. Even Sookie, who by now was pretty used to staying up all night and day because of the vampires was having a hard time trying to stay awake, so it was a blessing on the both of them when the lift doors quickly opened. 

Strolling down the hallway, she soon realised that all of their rooms were close together. Sookie’s and Bill’s, Jason’s and her own were all next to each other while Eric’s and Godric’s – because she guessed they were sharing a room – was opposite Taylor’s.

She hugged both Jason and Sookie goodnight as they retreated to their respective rooms and she watched as Eric entered his own. Standing between theirs Taylor spoke to Godric. ‘Can I ask what time you wake up at night? I thought maybe we could go and grab something to eat later.’ Taylor visibly cringed at the ending of her words. Go and grab something to eat? He doesn’t eat, stupid! Nevertheless, she wanted to try to get rid of the worn look in his eyes.

The vampire chuckled a little then replied, ‘I rise by six, so I will call on you then.’ He gave a small smile before entering his and Eric’s room and Taylor quickly followed suit and stepped inside hers. 

Pulling out her phone, which thankfully hadn’t taken any damage, she quickly set and alarm for 5:30pm. My sleeping schedule is seriously messed up, she thought, yawning to herself as she slipped off her shoes. Without bothering to undress she tumbled into the soft bed, falling asleep before her head even hit the pillow.


	7. Chapter 7

Taylor would have missed the light shuffling in her room were it not for the fact she usually woke before her alarm. Turning her phone to silent, she stayed still as the footsteps in her room edged closer. With her eyes closed, she feigned sleep as the intruder paused in front of her. It was when she felt breath on her face that she acted.

Allowing her instincts to kick in, she reached her hand out and grabbed the stranger, yanking them down onto the bed and forcefully holding them in place.

‘Whoa Tay’! What the hell?’ Her eyes finally snapped open at the voice, revealing a startled Jason pinned on the bed underneath her.

‘How did you get in here? Don’t sneak up on me like that!’ She replied, shuffling on to her feet. Damn it Jason, sleeping in a hotel filled with vampires is going to keep me alert.

‘Sorry,’ he sheepishly sat up while Taylor tiredly ran a hand down her face. ‘I borrowed a spare key from Sookie; I thought you’d already be up.’ Glancing at the clock on the wall revealed that it was a good thing she was awake. By the end of the bed she noticed her suitcase and she made her way towards it, pulling out clothes for the day.

‘It’s alright Jason,’ she sighed. ‘I need a shower anyway, then I’m going to grab some breakfast,’ She couldn’t wait to get changed out of yesterday’s outfit – sleeping in jeans was never comfy.

‘Good,’ he walked up to the door. ‘I’ll- err, see you in a bit.’ Were his last words before he left, closing the door quietly behind him. Well that was a short visit she thought amusedly, but why did he come? Shaking her head at Jason’s antics, she stepped into the bathroom, quickly stripping down and jumping in to the shower, finally glad to be able to wash away all the grime that had been covering her since the explosion.

Once thoroughly clean, she begrudgingly shut off the hot stream of water and left the shower. Looking down at her ruined clothes she debated on what to do. Her jeans looked likely to survive, but her shirt was completely ruined. The material was caked in blood, with one of the sides nearly black from it. Balling it up, she threw it into the bin, refusing think about it.

Soon she was dried off and dressed, the previous day’s jeans sitting forlornly on the mattress. Rummaging through the chest of drawers beside the bed, Taylor silently thanked the hotel for having placed a hairdryer inside of it.

It didn’t thankfully didn’t take too long to fix her hair, just drying and combing it through. Once she had finished there was a soft knock at her door. Fumbling to switch off the machine she opened it to reveal Godric, stood easily on the other side.

‘Good evening,’ he spoke, a barely-there smile gracing his lips. He was dressed in dark washed jeans and a grey jumper, a hint of the tattoo on his chest almost peeking out from underneath.

‘Hey,’ she said, allowing the door to close behind her as she tucked the key card into her pocket. ‘Is it alright if we go into the café downstairs?’ She had vaguely noticed it last night, and her stomach grumbled at the thought of hot food. She blushed, knowing his vampire hearing had probably heard her traitorous belly. 

‘Sure,’ he replied, chuckling a little. The lift doors were already open when they reached the end of the hall and they simultaneously stepped inside, with Godric pressing the button for the ground floor. 

There was a comfortable, companionable silence during the trip inside the elevator that she didn’t feel the need to break. Once the doors opened she followed him across to the dainty restaurant where they proceeded to seat themselves at a booth next to the window. Taylor had to remind herself it was night as she looked out at the darkness.

As soon as they sat down a waitress bounced over, her red hair bobbing as she did so. ‘What can I get you two?’ her peppy voice asked the both of them, although her eyes looked only to Godric. 

Taylor picked up the menu and ordered the first pasta dish she saw, which turned out to be some form of spaghetti. The young waitress scribbled it down with a frown.

‘Anything you want honey?’ she asked Godric, all smiles and allowing a little flirt to creep into her words. Taylor watched, amused. 

He turned his eyes from Taylor to look at her, replying with a short, but not unkind, ‘No thank you.’

The waitress nodded, her chipper mood not faltering. ‘Call if you change your mind,’ she told him, leaning forward to pick up the menu. She rather obviously, in Taylor’s opinion, tilted her neck towards the vampire, before straightening up and with a final smile at him, sashayed away. 

As Godric just blinked, Taylor tried to stifle a snort. He looked to her, raising an eyebrow at her badly held in laughter and allowing a small smile of his own. 

‘Are you sure you’re not hungry or anything?’ she asked, once she had composed herself. Vampire hotels were bound to sell TruBlood or something.

‘I am fine,’ he replied, ‘I require little blood at my age.’ Yeah right, she thought as the waitress returned with Taylor’s food. No matter how old you are, you’re still a vampire, and all vampires are thirsty. With one last flirty smile she left again.

‘Okay,’ she conceded. ‘So how old are you?’ she hoped it wasn’t considered rude to ask a vampire his age. Too late to worry now spoke her inner voice as she paused with her fork in the air.

‘Little over two thousand,’ was his answer. Taylor was pretty sure that is she had had food in her mouth she would have started choking. Godric watched, entertained, as she tried to formulate a response. 

Eventually, she settled with ‘Wow,’ her eyebrows rising in disbelief. Godric smirked, watching her as she processed the new information. ‘You must have seen so many things.’ She breathed.

‘I have,’ was his response. ‘Although not all of them were good.’ His eyes slipped over to the window.

‘Hey,’ Taylor spoke, reaching out and tapping his hand, wanting to remove the sadness that had crept slightly into his expression. ‘The past is the past; there’s nothing you can do to change it.’ She talked softly, returning to her meal after a moment.

‘I have done many bad things,’ he whispered, ‘I doubt you would be sitting so close if you knew of them.’ Godric smiled humourlessly.

‘And I’m sure all vampires were like that before the creation of TruBlood, but right now you don’t seem all that blood-thirsty to me; unlike Eric for example.’ I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.

‘I am the one that made him who he is today,’ he watched as her plate’s contents slowly depleted, and apart from his eyes, his face was expressionless.

She could see him blaming himself and it wasn’t the happiest of things to watch. ‘Eric is old enough to make his own decisions; let’s change the subject.’ She opted for.

He allowed her to do so. 

‘Do you know when the plane tickets for Shreveport are booked for?’ It always helped to know these things.

‘They are booked for dawn I believe.’ That meant boxed up vampires. She couldn’t believe it was very comfy having to sleep in one of those impossibly slim Anubis coffins, but then again, if you were unconscious you wouldn’t know. 

Following the path of her thoughts she asked, ‘Do vampires dream?’ 

If he was surprised at her rather random question, he didn’t show it. ‘Eric assures me he doesn’t, but I think I dream sometimes, although I cannot always remember.’ Huh, maybe it was an age thing.

‘It could be.’ Godric murmured. Taylor hadn’t realised she had spoken out loud. Need to watch that Tay’ the little voice in her head rambled.

Her plate was empty now, and she fished for a new subject, wanting to keep talking with the vampire. ‘What do you enjoy doing?’ Taylor was sure that if she had asked Eric that, all she would get was some form of lewd comment as a reply.

‘I like to read and explore, though at my age there are not many places that I haven’t yet visited.’ He smiled a little wistfully, as if remembering an experience. I bet, she thought, you probably know every language there is as well.

Taylor could have easily sat there all day with Godric, were it not for a text from Jason asking her where she was and telling her they needed to talk, also that he hoped she wasn’t hanging around with any of those ‘vampers’. Dear God Jason, who are you – my mother? She rolled her eyes unconsciously, with Godric noticing her exasperation. 

‘What is it?’ He queried, curious. 

‘Jason telling me I have to talk with him.’ It wasn’t everyday he asked to speak with her, maybe it was important. Before she could protest, Godric had paid for the meal and was now standing up, waiting for her to follow.

Quickly getting to her feet now, she walked back across the lobby to the lift, side by side with the vampire. She felt a little guilty for having to cut their time short, but a look at Godric revealed he was fine with it. Asking another question she said, ‘Does Eric have a house or will you have to sleep in the basement of Fangtasia?’ She cringed at the latter; god knows what went on down there.

Godric chuckled before replying as they exited the lift and walked down the hall. ‘He owns many homes; I do not think we will be sleeping in the basement.’ He smiled as they came to a stop outside their rooms. 

‘Maybe we could do this again?’ She asked, suddenly a little nervous.

He continued to smile softy. ‘Yes, I would enjoy that.’

Not giving her cheeks a chance to betray her by turning a shade of red, she threw the vampire a last smile before darting into her room. Way to go there, her inner voice sarcastically spoke, that was smooth.

After closing the door, she turned around and almost jumped out of her skin when she saw Eric sitting on her bed. ‘Damn it Eric!’ Does everyone have a key to my room? She thought, her cheeks quickly losing their colour.

Eric’s face didn’t even twitch, and his voice was serious when he spoke. ‘Godric isn’t feeding.’ He stood from the bed, stalking towards her. ‘But he listens to you,’ he continued. ‘Let him drink from you.’

Taylor’s startled demeanour changed rapidly as she snarled her words out, startling Eric. ‘No!’ No vampire, no matter who he was, was going to take a bite out of her. Not after what had happened to her family.

‘I’m not giving you a choice.’ He growled right back, his fangs snapping out. Don’t make me stake you Eric. Right now, if he lunged for her, she would. She was pissed. What was left of her easy-going mood disappearing. There was a huge difference between being friends with a vampire and having him stick his teeth in your neck.

Taylor tried to reign in her temper and after taking a breath she gritted out, ‘I will get him to feed, Eric, but it will not be from me.’ 

It appeared that was good enough for him, as his fangs disappeared. He didn’t look back as he stalked out the door.

Taylor shook her head in the now silent room. She just couldn’t think about what had happened all those years ago. Flashes of blood stained walls and screams rocked through her mind and she unconsciously shut her eyes, trying to keep the memories at bay.

When she opened her eyes, she found she was kneeling on the floor, her hands covering her ears. Taking deep breaths to compose herself, she shakily stood and walked over to the mini fridge in the corner. Opening it revealed bottles of water and TruBlood and she grabbed two of the latter before heading out the door and knocking on Godric’s.

He opened the door quickly, frowning when he noticed Taylor’s face was unusually pale. He stepped to the side, allowing her to walk in.

‘Are you alright?’ He questioned when she stopped in the middle of the room. 

‘I’m fine,’ she replied; glad to notice that Eric wasn’t with them as she turned to face the vampire.

‘No, you aren’t. What has happened?’ He walked so he was stood in front of her, his face turning worried. 

‘I told you I’m fine,’ she spoke indignantly, still slightly angry from her encounter with the blonde. ‘Here,’ she continued, passing him one of the bottles of TruBlood. ‘Drink this.’

He looked down at the cold bottle that was forced into his hands. ‘I do not require-‘

Taylor quickly cut him off before he could finish. ‘Stop lying to me Godric. Drink already.’ She felt tired, but why she was she wasn’t sure. She watched as the vampire unscrewed the cap from the bottle his lips pressed in to a thin line before he quickly downed the whole thing, making a face as he did so to Taylor’s amusement. 

Wait – weren’t these things supposed to be heated up? Oh well, she thought, handing him the other bottle before he had a chance to speak. He gave her a withering look before repeating his actions by drinking it quickly. From the look on his face she guessed it wasn’t the best tasting thing in the world. 

‘Not so nice, huh?’ She laughed, her good mood returning. She gently tugged the empty bottles out of his hands before turning and walking into the small kitchenette, dumping them in the bin. 

‘Why were you upset?’ He asked, standing behind her and sandwiching Taylor between him and the counter. 

‘Eric ratted you out on your eating habits.’ She said, avoiding the question. As she thought back to her encounter with him, she realised that she couldn’t really blame him for looking out for his maker; after all, he didn’t know why she had a freak out when he told her to let herself be bitten, only Sookie knew about that.

Taylor felt her back hit the counter as the vampire took another step closer. ‘That was not my question,’ he spoke, his lips grazing her ear as he leaned in and his quiet words sounding like silk. 

Formulating a response was becoming increasingly difficult as she felt him press a small kiss behind her ear, before moving down her neck. She felt breathless as he undoubtedly left marks on her skin, sucking harshly for a moment before soothing it with a swipe of his tongue. Admittedly, she felt nervous about having him so close, but not once did his fangs come out, which she was thankful for. 

His tongue made a slow trail back up and he paused to kiss along her jaw before finding her lips. Taylor felt his hand grasp her hip and she deepened the kiss, her own hand gliding to the back of Godric’s neck to pull him closer so they were flush against one another. If he felt cold she didn’t notice, but then again her rising body temperature most likely made up for it.

Even though her eyes were closed, Taylor felt like she was seeing stars as his tongue glided across her bottom lip, seeking entrance, which she quickly obliged. The kiss was gentle to begin with but it became rougher as that tongue did things to Taylor she couldn’t explain, his hand fisting in her hair. His taste was indescribable and thankfully, she there wasn’t a hint of the TruBlood he had drunk, just something that was pure Godric.

She could have continued forever were it not for the fact that she still needed to breathe. Taylor rested her forehead against Godric’s as she attempted to calm her breaths, watching as his kissed mouth formed into a slight smirk as she did so. Taylor leaned forward to peck him on the lips one last time, which he reciprocated, before pulling away, just as Sookie and Eric glided into the room.

Sookie looked at the two of them in shock, while Eric didn’t even seem fazed. ‘Um, are we interrupting anything?’ Her eyes darted between the two of them, who hadn’t moved position, still pressed together. 

Taylor shook her head, and Godric spoke for them, ‘It is fine, I need to speak with Eric anyway.’ The blonde vampire looked up at that, a slight question in his eyes. With a last glance at Godric, Taylor darted around him and walked across the room to the door, Sookie by the side of her. 

Taylor sighed to herself. Damn interrupting vampires, she thought.


	8. Chapter 8

Mum and Dad are arguing, I can hear them from my bedroom. I’ve never heard them shout at each other before, they are always so happy. 

I climb out from the safe haven of my bed and walk to the top of the stairs, my favourite teddy clutched tightly in my hand. Mum’s voice sounds scared and I don’t like that, it feels wrong. Why isn’t she happy? 

I sit down and lean my head against the railings on the stairs. All I want is to be able to go back to sleep but I can’t now, it’s too noisy. From where I’m sat I can see down the stairs and catch a glimpse of the front door, if I crane my neck to look. 

There’s a light tapping on the door and Mum and Dad immediately silence themselves. I can see someone stood on the other side of the door, but the image is fuzzy because the glass is frosted. The dark figure is stood still and I can only just see it because it’s night outside.

Mum and Dad are both now stood in the hall, watching the door as its handle slowly turns. It makes an unusual creaking noise as it does so and I quickly realise it’s the sound of the lock being shattered inside of its holdings.

In the shabby lighting I watch as the door slowly creaks open, but no one is there. There is no one stood in the doorway anymore. A gust of wind blows through the house and suddenly there is someone stood at the bottom of the stairs.

It only takes my parents a moment to realise this then suddenly Dad’s jumping at the intruder, faster than he should be able to. From my undiscovered hiding spot I watch as Mum raises her hand to do something, she’s crying and shaking and I don’t know what to do, sat here at the top of the stairs. I clutch teddy tighter, whatever is happening I know it’s not normal.

The stranger and Dad are fighting, not play fighting like I’ve seen him do with his friends, actual punches are being thrown and I can hear heavy snarls coming from the two of them. The stranger must have noticed Mum because as soon as he saw her raise her hand he sent my Dad flying through the wall with a kick. 

I can see mum trying to back away through my vision which is now blurring with tears. She’s saying words but I don’t understand them, maybe I am too young. 

The bad man, for that’s what I realise he now is, seems to be able to zap himself from one place to another really quickly. It’s like he’s using some kind of super speed that Dad read about aloud to me from a comic.

Suddenly he’s stood behind mum, there’s a sickening clacking sound and then everything is quiet. Mum’s held in stranger’s arms, limp, like she’s asleep. For some reason he has his face in her neck – is he smelling her?

They’re both in the light now, so I can see the stranger clearly as he drops Mum to the floor in a heap. He’s a boy, not yet an adult but definitely not a child. His dark hair grows no longer than his shoulders and is styled in messy points. Red saturates his clothing although most of it is smeared across his mouth.

He’s looking down at mum with his head tilted to the side when suddenly I hear a whimper from the lounge, the room he threw my Dad into. He smirks now, revealing he has bloody fangs for teeth, and he slowly turns around, stepping lightly into the other room.

Everything is deathly silent and I let out a quiet breath before the screaming starts. It’s Dad screaming. Oh god. He’s screaming and crying and sobbing and there’s sickening noises coming from the room he and the stranger are in. 

I cover my ears with both hands and bury my head in my knees. I don’t want to hear this. Why doesn’t mum get up and stop it? Why doesn’t she move? 

Dad’s not making any noises now and that’s even scarier. The boy slowly trails out from the room, looking like he’s had a bath in scarlet paint. There’s a smile on his face and his dark eyes are glinting dangerously as he walks across the hall, stopping at the bottom of the stairs.

He’s like a snake, I think, as he sniffs the air. He must have smelt something because he pauses before his head turns to look up the stairs. He sees me. Oh my god he can see me and he’s starting to walk up the steps. I try backing away but my legs won’t work and he’s already only eight steps away and he’s coming for me, he’s going to get me. His hand’s reaching out and his fangs are dripping blood on the white carpet and I can smell him he’s so close. He smells like death, his hand is centimetres away from my face. This is it, I’m going to die, I’m goi-

...

‘Taylor wake up!’ Sookie abruptly shakes Taylor out of her disturbed sleep, who nearly falls out of her seat as she does so. 

‘What? What happened?’ Taylor leant forwards, putting a hand over her eyes.

‘You were having a nightmare,’ that was no nightmare; Taylor kept her thoughts to herself, pushing the memory to the back of her mind.

‘How long is it until we land?’ She asked instead, she couldn’t wait to get out of the confining space of the plane.

‘A few hours I think, try to get some sleep Tay’.’ Sookie replied. Taylor knew she wasn’t going to be able to get any rest now, and instead settled herself down in her chair, leaning her head against the cool glass and looking out of the window as they flew through the brilliant blue sky.


	9. Chapter 9

The worst part of returning home meant Taylor had work in the evening. Not that she was really complaining; she worked in a small bookstore on the edge of Shreveport, stacking shelves and helping customers. The owner of the store was in his late fifties and was a close family friend; as soon as she had moved in with Sookie all those years ago he had immediately offered her work. It was relaxing as much as it was fun. 

Of course that meant that during her drive over she was alone with her thoughts, which mainly consisted of Godric. What was this thing they had? If there even was a ‘thing’ to begin with. He was a vampire for god sakes and it was as clear as day to her that she wouldn’t be able to be with him for long anyway. He didn’t age; she did. 

But Taylor couldn’t help that little fluttering feeling she would get in her stomach when he smiled at her; and when he laughed, it was like music to her ears. It was obvious he wasn’t like other vampires, maybe he had been like a shorter version of Eric at one point, but Taylor could tell that that wasn’t him anymore. She hadn’t even seen his fangs! Not that she especially wanted to, but he had to have plenty of control to be able to hold them back.

 

It had been two days since Taylor had last seen Godric, and she couldn’t help but admit that she was missing him just a little. She was currently on her way home from work, dusk having fallen a few hours ago leaving the drive back quiet and smooth, the dim streetlights reflecting patterns on the windshield. 

Taylor pulled in to her and Sookie’s drive and quickly made her way up to the house. She should just be able to catch the blonde before she left for work at Merlotte’s since Sookie had opted to take the night shift. 

It was a surprise to Taylor, as she got out and locked up her battered car, that there was figure sat on the old porch steps. As she approached, whoever it was that was sat there seemed to notice her and stood up, stepped off the bottom two steps and began to walk towards her. 

‘Godric,’ she smiled, recognising the young-looking vampire. Taylor met him halfway to the house, and in reply he ducked his head in for a chaste kiss on the lips. 

‘Hello,’ he replied, a sheepish smile on his face. Taylor wasn’t going to let him get away with just that though, and she grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt, pulling him back in for a deeper kiss. Godric didn’t protest in the slightest, and he snaked his hand into her hair, tugging on the stands and tilting his head to the side as their tongues met again and again.

Taylor could have easily continued to kiss him, were it not for Sookie’s abrupt interruption. ‘Ew, gross. Get a room!’ She would have jumped away in embarrassment were it not for Godric’s arm around her waist, holding her close.

Sookie left the front door open behind her as she quickly hopped off the porch. ‘I’m off to work; feel free to go inside, you’re welcome to come in Godric,’ she directed her last words at him with a bubbly smile, before bouncing off to her own car.

‘Thank you Miss Stackhouse,’ he replied gladly as Taylor grabbed him by the hand and led him inside, kicking the door shut behind them as they entered the property. 

As much as Taylor wanted to spend the entire night with Godric, she was absolutely shattered. The vampire seemed to pick up on this, as once they had climbed the stairs he spoke. ‘You should get some rest little one,’ he paused in the doorway to Taylor’s room, her hand still clutched tightly in his.

Taylor tugged him forward, ‘Stay with me?’ She asked as he gladly stepped through the doorway.

‘Of course,’ he replied. He sat on the bed whilst Taylor pulled some nightclothes out of her drawers before darting into the bathroom to get changed. She returned quickly, eagerly snuggling under the covers. The vampire lay down on his back beside her and Taylor rolled onto her side so she was facing him.

‘Will you visit tomorrow?’ Taylor yawned into his chest as his arms slowly snaked around her to hold her close. He had stilled initially when she had rested her head on his chest, but he had quickly recovered.

‘Of course,’ were the last words Taylor heard before she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> much more action next chapter!


End file.
